BROUGHTON HOUSE & GARDEN, HIGH STREET
This utterly charming eighteenth-century town house was once the
home of E. A. Hornel, a renowned Scottish artist and one of the
'Glasgow Boys'. Even if you have
no knowledge re who Hornel was, the house is still most certainly worth
a visit; you just can't beat a look
around other folk's houses, especially when they are old and jumbly and quite lovely. There are a number of paintings by
Hornel on display in the house. Although Broughton House is only
open from 1st April to 31st October each year (every day), the stunningly
beautiful garden at the rear is open from 1st February to 31st
October (Monday to Friday).

TOLBOOTH ART CENTRE, HIGH STREET
The Tolbooth Art Centre sits on the bend of Kirkcudbright's
unique L-shaped High Street. To be perfectly frank with you, I
am inclined to think that this L-shaped High Street is the
result of some sort of blunder. Perhaps when the town was first
being formed hundreds of years ago the men with spades and
shovels built a High Street then turned a corner to find another
group of men with spades and shovels who had also built a High
Street. 'We canny hae twa High Streets, Hamish,' one of the
foremen might have said. 'Hmm,' the other might have said.
'Wait, Jamesy... ah ken fit we'll dae. We'll join 'em thegither
an' mak wan lang bendy High Street. It'll be unique, an' thoosands o' visitors will come tae Kirkcudbright tae see it.'
Tolbooth Art Centre sits in Kirkcudbright's old seventeenth
century Tolbooth. Its tower was seemingly built using stones
from Dundrennan Abbey, a structure that must as a result now lie
in a state of some ruin. In 1698, in what was then a prison cell
at the foot of the tower (now the foot of a spiral stair),
Elspeth McEwan was imprisoned prior to being burnt at the stake
for witchcraft. There is an information panel in what used to be
the cell. It includes details of expenses incurred by the town
council during preparation for Elspeth's execution...

Item for peits to burn Elspeth wt...
Item for towes [ropes to tie the poor creature to the stakes],
small and great... [4 shillings]...

You have to wonder what mental anguish that poor woman
endured in that tiny stone cell, kept naked by all accounts,
knowing that from there she would be dragged off and set on
fire. It is tempting to look back on those days and ponder how
barbaric we were then. But even today you can read of occasional
horrific things in the press, and you realise that we haven't
really come that far at all.
The Tolbooth is interesting for a whole load of reasons. There
are, for example, two metal jougs attached to the exterior
stonework; one on the platform by the original entrance, and
another near the right-hand corner of the building. Must have
been a lot of naughty folk in Kirkcudbright's past.

MACLELLAN'S CASTLE
A large ruinous castle in the very heart of the town. It dates
to the late 16th century, and was once the home of Sir Thomas
MacLellan of Bombie, whoever he was. Within its old crumbly
rooms King James VI was once entertained, possibly with a joke
or two, possibly not. By 1752 it had fallen into a roofless
state of decay. Of course the thing about ruins is they are
invariably fun to creep around. There are still stairs and rooms
and much stone ammunition for your imagination. And speaking of
ammunition, you may spot a gunport by the main door to the
castle. This was to allow the man from Bombie to take a pop at
anyone trying to sell him double glazing. [Castle only open in
summer.]

THE STEWARTRY MUSEUM, ST MARY STREET
Oh what a lovely old museum this is. It's a traditional museumy
museum so typical of the form they took in the Victorian period
with a main hall and an upstairs mezzanine balcony. The
Stewartry Museum is full of stuff, everything from old bottles
and jars, witch stones, cups and caskets, cards and clocks,
guns, tobacco pipes and snuff boxes, match holders and so on.
Their most famous item is apparently The Siller Gun, but it's
just a wee thing and it didn't look all that interesting to me.
The Siller Gun (or Silver Gun) is Britain's oldest surviving
sporting trophy, dating to 1587 when it was presented to
Kirkcudbright by King James VI, perhaps as a token of his
appreciation for the hospitality afforded to him by the man from
Bombie. It is awarded each year as the prize in a shooting
competition.